The number of times my fancy-shmancy gear “enhanced” my enjoyment of music is clearly outweighed by the number of times my preoccupation with minutiae (whether during actual music listening - so many hours spent listening to music while being irked and bothered by poor fidelity instead of appreciating the damn music - or during the countless hours spent fiddling with expensive tools, gauges, devices, etc. and tweaking speaker positions by fractions of millimeters before and after music listening) sullied my appreciation of music.
I would never recommend being an audiophile to anyone.
I wish this never became part of my life.
I’m a person with predilections to hyper-focus and obsession, so maybe this combined with my passion for music made being an audiophile inevitable.
Yes, an ideal mastering of a particular piece of music on a well-calibrated high fidelity system can be absolutely wonderful.
My aggregate “happy quotient” was much higher in my adolescence & 20s when I just loved music.
The Symphony of the Audiophile: How Do You Define Enjoyment in Sound?
In a world increasingly driven by fast-paced interactions and instant gratification, the art of truly listening to music can feel like a rare treasure. It's a deliberate act that requires time, attention, and a genuine appreciation for the layers and nuances that make up a musical piece. This passion for detailed listening is at the heart of what it means to be an audiophile. But what specifically makes listening to music enjoyable for us, and how does it shape our journey as audiophiles?
Many factors can contribute to the enjoyment of music listening. It could be the emotional connection that a particular song or album invokes, the sonic intricacies that reveal themselves over time, or even the shared experience of listening to music with others. Additionally, there is a technical aspect that audiophiles often delight in - the equipment that reproduces the music, the acoustics of the space, the format of the recording, and more.
For us audiophiles, the joy of listening extends beyond the music itself. The pursuit of high-fidelity sound reproduction, the meticulous setup of audio equipment, the thrill of finding a rare vinyl or an exceptional recording - all of these elements form part of the audiophile experience. But how do these elements intertwine to define our enjoyment as audiophiles?
I invite you all to share your insights and experiences on this topic. What specific elements of music listening bring you the most joy, and why? How has your pursuit of high-fidelity sound enhanced this joy? And conversely, have there been instances where the audiophile pursuit might have detracted from your enjoyment of the music?
In essence, how do you balance the technical pursuit of sound perfection with the inherent emotional and aesthetic enjoyment of music? And as we look to the future, what do you hope to see in the evolution of high-end audio that would further enhance your enjoyment as an audiophile?"
I think that I have found a happy balance. My system is light years away from state of the art, but it suits my needs well, and when I make improvements, I become excited, because what I call an improvement, as a music lover, is a change that exposes a vocal detail, or a timing nuance that I hadn't noticed before that reveals more of what that music is about. That is my thrill. It might only happen a few times each year, but in between those changes, I still love my system and have become far more appreciative of what it does and far less obsessive about what it can't do than I once was. |
I can relate to what @tylermunns has said. I do believe music-lovers whose enjoyment is not dependent upon SQ are fortunate. And this group appears to include many musicians. To describe my experience as simply as I can, if I focus on SQ, I keep the music at arm’s length. It’s an inherently dualistic activity. I cannot analyze and be immersed at the same time. If I want to be carried away by the music, I cannot bring the left brain along for the ride-- I have to disengage from analytical concerns with SQ and open myself up emotionally and somatically. In a nutshell, this has been my experience. It may not be yours. Can’t wait to see what @mahgister has to say about this topic! |
When an audio system S.Q. is imperfect and unbalanced, the musical experience and the sound experience are TWO separated experience... When an audio system is relatively near perfection, and well balanced, the musical experience and the sound experience become ONE single experience... The idea of upgrading the components fade away are perhaps a marginal improvement at the cost of a stupendous amount of money and seems also preposterous... lost in music who think about sound ?
😊😉😁😊😊😊 |
My goal is to hear it all. You never know what sonic pleasures might be up ahead. Then you get to revisit the special moments as you please for reasons that only matter to you at the moment. Home hifis bring the musical pulse of the world around us into one's home via music. The hifi is merely the tool that enables it all. A very cool tool that comes in many flavors. A better hifi simply does the job better. It's fun to learn about how it all works and the many tools out there one might choose to tackle the task at hand. |
Perhaps I've simply not encountered this scenario, yet, even when listening to friends' much more costly systems.
Makes sense to me on the face of it BUT still, I can't help but wonder whether , when we use the phrase "lost in music", we're all referring to the same thing.
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i am lost in music when my system being able to serve the music, i did not bother myself with sound... But we can be lost in music in a bad audio system...( music is more powerful than sound as meaning is more powerful than meaninglessness) What i want to convey, is any audiophile as me who value S.Q. , forget sound when all is balanced in the soundfield with no perceptible EVIDENT defects... I did not claim my system is perfect, it is perfect for me now... ( i can upgrade it for sure and it will improve but instead of 600 bucks of perfection i will have 15,000 bucks of more perfection 😊)
I never encountered this experience with my friends system, even if their speakers were better than mine by design, ( quad speakers , Magneplanar etc )because their room was bad unlike mine... And anyway now after loosing my room , i own one of the best headphone ever , i cannot fault it on any factors... I listen music now and audio and sound are not my hobby anymore , music is now way more important now than in the past 10 years in my journey to create my sonic heaven...
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@tylermunns LOL, I can totally relate. However I wouldn't change a thing. Well, maybe those speaker cables. |
I feel sorry for people who are so analytical that they have a hard time enjoying music. Those that are so concerned with achieving the "perfect" sound that they spend more time listening for problems than actually enjoying the music. I know a guy who plays the guitar, quite well, and on a Porcupine Tree song there is apparently a glitch that he claims "ruins the whole song" for him. Audiophools are often the same way. Sad. |
My goal is for the music to sound Real. I want it to sound like the artist is sitting in front of me, or like I’m sitting in the concert venue with them. Sometimes you have the confluence of a great performance, a great recording, and a great system and you’re in another place, transported by the music… |
don’t over think it... if the music makes you happy, smile, cry, tap your feet, dance, thoroughly feel the emotion, soul, rhythm in the music, the performance, you have done something very right... all the other stuff should be in the service of enjoying these wonderful feelings, basking in the wonderful art form of music making if b is overshadowing a, one should rightfully do a self check, see if you are going about it right, letting cart lead the horse |
Live performance sound as the only goal is a fool's errand. Being a musician and having experienced firsthand the travails of horrible venues, power issues and the quest for all participating to do their part, rarely do the stars align and produce nirvana. The goal with my system was to eliminate all those variables and try to produce the most powerful sound possible in my given environment. Once that goal was achieved, it became apparent to me that the recording was going to be the deciding factor as to my connection with the music. I now put as much effort in the search for great music recorded well as I did into building my stereo and room. God bless the internet. At least where this is concerned. |
@stuartk +1 If you focus on how it sounds, you miss on why it sounds. These two mental attitudes - analytical versus immersive listening - tend to be mutually exclusive. We like to believe we have freedom of thought, so you might think there’s a choice. But once the brain gets entangled in the audiophile frame of mind this come at a price. Not just the absurd cost of getting into the high resolution audio rabbit hole, but you run the risk of loosing your connection with the music itself. There are audiophiles who are mostly (only?) interested in the sound itself and there are music lovers who don’t seem to care at all how it sounds. It’s only those unfortunate folks who care about both who find themselves in this predicament. Wisdom comes with age as some would have it, but in this case physical deterioration comes to our aid as well. There comes a moment when you can no longer deny that the kind of spacial cues or minuscule details that previously enthralled you are no longer audible..... unless you’re lucky, or maybe not. When the focus on those details only brings a sense of loss and no longer satisfies, the brain will eventually move away from this mind set. It’s as if those carefully developped ’audiophile’ connections start to shrivel away and if you make an effort the ’musical’ connections already there will start building up again. This observation is from personal experience at age 63. I’ve been in denial for quite a while, but a significant hearing loss above say 12kHz and a mild form of tinnitus have forced me to shift my attention away from how things sound. I now recognize this as a blessing, because it no longer stands in the way of truly hearing the music. It almost feels nostalgic, like coming full circle. Nonetheless it’s still very easy to distinguish between recordings and recognize the ones that sound best. Not for all those details, stage depth or other audiophile hang ups, but for its inherent rightness. For this mode of listening you really don’t need an expensive, high resolution audio system. These days I can enjoy music just as much with my vintage system from the 70’s and with the tone controls (remember those) I can easily correct bad recordings of which there are so many. And waddayouknow: the ones that always sounded best in the high resolution system also sound best on the ’old’ rig without needing the tone controls. So from a sonic perspective the truth of the matter is that the quality of the recording was, is and always will be the most important factor. What, you already knew that? |
Over the years I’ve learned to be less analytical and just enjoy what’s playing. If it drives me to tap my feet and or nod my head, then I’m in my happy place. There are times I put something on and it’s not so enjoyable, but usually it is because the recording is not all that great. Not every single piece of music I play on my set up sounds perfect, but overall I’m pretty happy. There is no perfect system, I think that is unobtainable really. Being an audiophile brings both joy and sometimes frustration, and it can empty your wallet quickly. |
@jmalen123 Thanks for your perspective. Frankly, quality of gear today often produces SQ far above live performance. Genre and venue dependent of course ... |
I was "analytical" unvolontarily when my audio system was in my living room or in a average room , and the gear components were badly embedded and coupled in a room devoid of any acoustic treatment and control... I dont pay attention to "the sound" defects anymore at all now...There is none for me to be perceived... Each evening is a musical ectasy and a sound ectasy...upgrades is not necessary even if it is possible ( i even know its upgrade costs : 15,000 bucks to beat my 600 bucks relatively perfect system for my ears now ) Because my audio system is optimal for me... Only music exist now... I am not lucky, no, sorry , i studied and worked hard to create my system... S.Q. is not related to price tag sorry... I know it first hand... |
Yes; that is sad, however, like it or not, the analytical function is crucial for engaging in this hobby. The trick is to leverage its capacities when appropriate and to return it to the "tool box" when no longer needed. This is easy enough in the case of a screwdriver but not so simple where the human brain is concerned.
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Yes -- becoming aware of which aspects of SQ are most engaging for us is so important.
A sane approach to an activity that can easily (for some of us at least) trigger something resembling insanity,
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We all have our unique tales to tell, from the highs of music's emotional resonance to the lows of fixation on sonic perfection. Some of us have wrestled with the balance between appreciating the music and being preoccupied with the minutiae of sound reproduction. This struggle, although occasionally frustrating, seems to be an essential part of our shared journey.
It's also quite clear that our journey has its share of transformation and growth. Many of you highlighted a shift from an initial obsession with gear and sound quality to a more balanced appreciation of the musical experience. It's inspiring to hear about this evolution and the resultant enjoyment you've found in your systems, regardless of their state-of-the-art status.
One overarching theme that resonates with many responses is the quest for immersion in music. The idea of merging the musical and sound experience into one single journey is truly compelling. It seems the more we are able to tune out our analytical tendencies and open up emotionally, the more profound our musical enjoyment becomes.
There's also an appreciation for the unending potential of our audio journey. The excitement for what might lie ahead, the anticipation of sonic surprises, and the joy of revisiting special musical moments in enhanced fidelity are all parts of this shared adventure.
However, amid all these shared experiences, it's crucial to remember our individual definitions of being 'lost in music'. This phrase, while universally used, can evoke very personal and varied experiences. Whether it refers to surrendering oneself to the melodies or disconnecting from the analytical aspect of sound reproduction, the essence remains the same - it's all about the joy of music.
So, let's continue to encourage each other in our pursuit of sonic pleasure. Let's remain open to differing perspectives, seek balance, foster growth, and remember that at the heart of it all is our shared love for music.
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